ART. 4. Amusement Games
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NEW JERSEY LAW REVISION COMMISSION Revised Draft Final Report and Recommendations Relating to GAMES OF CHANCE June 08, 2020 The work of the New Jersey Law Revision Commission is only a recommendation until enacted. Please consult the New Jersey statutes in order to determine the law of the State. Please send comments concerning this Report or direct any related inquiries, to: Samuel M. Silver, Deputy Director New Jersey Law Revision Commission 153 Halsey Street, 7th Fl., Box 47016 Newark, New Jersey 07102 973-648-4575 (Fax) 973-648-3123 Email: [email protected] Web site: http://www.njlrc.org Introduction This Report recommends a thorough revision of the law regulating bingo, raffles and amusement games, collectively called “legalized games of chance.” The law on these games now comprises Title 5, Chapter 8, of the New Jersey Statutes. The law is repetitive and, in some cases, self-contradictory. It is also overly detailed, including provisions better left to administrative regulations. The effect of these deficits is to make the law on legalized games of chance inaccessible to all but those experts who have puzzled through it frequently enough to understand its complexities. However, it is important that this law be understood by the people who are regulated by it: volunteers for charitable organizations that use bingo and raffles and the businesspeople who run amusement games. Officials who administer the current law told the Commission that it often causes confusion as to what is required. The revised statutes proposed are an attempt to put the law into clear, concise language. This Report also recommends simplification of the substance of the law regulating legalized games of chance. At present, licensing is a two-step process, involving applications to, and approvals by, both the state regulatory commission and the municipality in which the game will take place. That process involves unnecessary complication for the person who must acquire a license. This Report recommends instead, that the Legalized Games of Chance Commission be responsible for all licensing and no municipal license be required. A municipality retains the power to decide whether it will permit bingo, raffles, or amusement games to be permitted within its territory. A municipality is also given notice of applications for amusement games licenses. If the municipality objects, the license may not be granted without a hearing. The Commission also recommends substantive changes to bring the law into harmony with current community expectations. Present law has been held to restrict games designed primarily for children if the prize, however trivial, is affected by the child’s success in playing the game. These games are found throughout the state in arcades designed primarily for children. Present law can also be interpreted to forbid merchandise promotions where certain purchasers are given free merchandise or prizes. However, such promotions are common. For example, some soft drink companies give a free bottle where the label or cap of the bottle purchased so indicates. The proposed statute would accept current practice and exempt children’s games and merchandise giveaways from regulation. Current law also limits amusement games to certain shore and resort localities, and to agricultural fairs and exhibitions. These games, however, are also found throughout the state at fairs and festivals. The proposed statute would allow amusement games at fairs of ten days duration or less. Games of Chance – Rev. Draft Final Report – Released Sept. 26, 2002, Revised June 08, 2020 - Page 2 Appendix1 Chapter 1. Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission 1-1. Definitions As used in this act: “Amusement game” is a game of chance: (1) played for entertainment, (2) in which the player participates actively, (3) the outcome of which is not controlled by the operator; and (4) operated so that the sale of right to play, the event determining win or loss, and the award of prize, all occur as a continuous sequence at the time and place that players are present. “Arcade” means a place where a single player upon payment of a fee is permitted to play a machine or device to obtain a prize, ticket, or token redeemable for a prize, or attain a score upon the basis of which a prize, ticket or token is awarded. “Armchair races” at which wagers are placed on the outcome of previously- filmed horse races and wagerers do not know the results in advance. “Bingo” means the game of chance defined in the N.J. Const. Art. IV, Sect. VII, par. 2(A). “Casino nights” at which players use chips or scrip purchased from the licensee to wager in games of chance known as blackjack, under/over, beat-the-dealer, chuck-a-luck, craps, roulette, bingo or similar games approved by the Commission. “Commission” means the Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission. “Electronic amusement” means an amusement offered through an electronic device that allows a player to participate in a game of skill or chance through interaction with the device. “Electronic raffle systems” means hardware, software, internet, cellular, or Wi-Fi connected devices and associated devices that enable raffles to be conducted entirely by electronic means, with rights to participate sold electronically by individuals who are employed by or otherwise represent the organization conducting the raffle, that generate a unique electronic entry to the raffle that is the equivalent of a paper ticket, each an electronic ticket which may be delivered to the purchaser electronically, at the point of sale on the premises of the large sporting venue recorded in the electronic raffle system as eligible entries or rights to 1 The proposed revisions to this project appear in italics. Previous revisions appear in underline. Games of Chance – Rev. Draft Final Report – Released Sept. 26, 2002, Revised June 08, 2020 - Page 3 participate, and winners determined by random drawing from all electronic entries or rights to participate. “Firearm-related item” means any item or paraphernalia used in connection with the firing, alteration, display, storage, maintenance, and use of a firearm. “Gambling” means: a. staking or risking something of value upon an agreement or understanding that the actor will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome: (1) of a game in which the outcome depends wholly, or in part, on chance through the use of a mechanism understood to produce a random result, including cards, dice, wheels, drawings and the like; (2) on a game or contest of skill, if the average participant is unlikely to have the skill to influence the outcome substantially; or (3) on a future contingent event not under the actor's control or influence. b. Gambling shall not include: (1) investments in ordinary financial instruments; (2) contracts of insurance: (3) tournaments of recognized games or sports; or (4) giving free merchandise or other prizes to randomly selected purchasers of the product by a manufacturer or seller if the only cost to the purchaser to be eligible for the prize is the ordinary cost of the product. “Game of chance” is a game in which: (1) players pay to participate; (2) winners are determined by chance, skill or combination of the two; and (3) prizes are awarded to winners; and (4) the cost of the prizes is derived from the amount paid by players. “Large sporting venue” means a stadium, arena, or similar venue with minimum seating for 8,000 spectators wherein professional, semi-professional, or collegiate athletes compete in sports or other athletic games and including the parking lots adjacent to and serving the patrons of that venue. “Net proceeds” means the gross income from the sale of tickets or rights to participate in a raffle, less only such actual expenses incurred as are authorized in the “Raffles Licensing Law,” and by the commission. Games of Chance – Rev. Draft Final Report – Released Sept. 26, 2002, Revised June 08, 2020 - Page 4 “On-premises draw raffle” is a raffle conducted by a drawing, in which all tickets are sold only to persons present at the place of drawing with the winner determined there and the prize awarded. “Organization” means any group licensed to operate games of chance under the Bingo Licensing Law or under the Raffles Licensing Law. “Person” shall mean not only a natural person but also any partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, limited liability company, or any other legal entity. “Premises” shall mean any land, building, enclosure or part thereof used for the purpose of operating or conducting games of chance under the Bingo Licensing Law or under the Raffles Licensing Law. A “punch-board” means a board with a number of openings of uniform size in which the manufacturer placed, at random, slips of paper or other substances or punches imprinted with numbers or symbols; where a flare or face sheet covers the openings and sets out the winning numbers or symbols and which prizes a player may win; and the punches have specific serial numbers assigned and printed on them. A “Queen of Hearts raffle” means a raffle game utilizing a Queen of Hearts raffle board onto which 54 playing cards can be placed facedown, side-by-side, and held securely by a locking, transparent cover, which playing cards shall be thoroughly shuffled and from which the participant holding the winning raffle ticket drawn at random from a raffle ticket drum or receptacle shall be entitled to “Search for the Queen of Hearts” by selecting one of the facedown playing cards. When the playing card selected is not the Queen of Hearts, the card shall be placed out of play, and the holder of the winning raffle ticket selecting that card shall be immediately awarded a cash prize valued according to the schedule set forth in regulation by the Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission.